REDLANDS – When it comes to improving handicap access in downtown, the city is reaching out to the people in the best position to know how to prioritize the projects.

“The city has taken on a public outreach program to solicit participants from the community to be on an informal committee to give input on ADA issue and create a list of priorities,” said Rosemary Hoerning, municipal utilities and engineering director/city engineer. “The subcommittee is formed of people who have impairments, people who have loved ones with impairments and interested parties.”

The committee, which formed earlier this year, created a list of places in Redlands that are most difficult for people with disabilities to navigate.

Fred Ford, who uses a wheelchair, said ADA awareness is the biggest single issue.

After that, it’s curb cutouts.

Hoerning said the committee, which has five volunteer community members plus some city staff, has been working to create a grid to to show where people with disabilities can move throughout the city. Eventually, they plan to create a map that shows safe areas to travel.

“We want to focus on the areas people go to,” Hoerning said. “It’s about figuring out how to get the best bang for the buck.”

Before plans were solidified for the recent Redlands Boulevard and Orange Street improvement project, Ford toured the area with city staff to point out places where it is difficult or dangerous to maneuver in a wheelchair.

“I went out with the city engineer and field engineer to look at some of the things they were going to execute,” Ford said. “Prior to taking the bid, we were able to make some adjustments. The thing that tickled me was all the curb cutouts that got lowered by simply grinding them down.”

Fred Mousavipour, assistant director of engineering, said in May that part of the reinvestment project’s aim was to rid the area of hazards caused by broken or uneven sidewalks and to bring ADA ramps up to code.

Hoerning said it was useful to her team to have the assistance of a person who will be traveling the area in a wheelchair.

“It helped to have a different perspective – he brings a real practical approach,” Hoerning said. “He travels downtown quite a bit and is very familiar with the area.”

The ramps in the project area are “beautiful,” according to Ford, and it is much easier for all pedestrians to traverse the now-improved areas.

The committee has also identified other weak spots in the city. Hoerning and her team have made a work list, Ford said.

“Highland (Avenue is) on the list because of all the driveways,” Ford said. “To get around, you have to constantly be going into traffic. There isn’t a continuous sidewalk. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be enjoying all of Highland Avenue.”

Hoerning said the challenge for the city is coming up with the money to make the necessary improvements, but they are working toward that goal. She said the city wants to add more ramps in Redlands and remove the barriers that prevent people with disabilities from moving around.

Ford encouraged business owners to take a look at their own properties and evaluate whether they are places people using wheelchairs can access.

Following the city’s model, Ford said, the easiest way to find a property’s weak spots is to consult a person in a wheelchair, and to have them review the premises. Sometimes, the most egregious obstacles can only be seen by just having a different perspective.

“It’s very easy to get yourself so tunneled that you fail to see the forest through the trees,” Ford said. “It’s so obvious that it’s there.”